Deadline Date: September 08, 2026
The NourishNext West Africa Youth Agri-Food Innovation Challenge is inviting young innovators to develop solutions that strengthen nutritious fruit and vegetable value chains across West Africa.
The focus areas of this challenge include value addition and processing innovations, integration of local fruit and vegetable produce into public nutrition and social protection systems, strengthened market and supply chain solutions, improved supply, safety and desirability of fruits and vegetables, consumer demand and healthy diet behaviour change, nutrition-sensitive food systems, and innovative solutions addressing agrifood challenges.
The challenge is led by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) in partnership with the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement and national implementing partners across Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Senegal. The initiative is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
NourishNext identifies, supports, and accelerates youth-led innovations that improve how fruits and vegetables are processed, preserved, packaged, transported, marketed, distributed, purchased, and consumed.
The challenge is open to young innovators aged 18 to 35 years, with the upper age limit extended to 40 years for women-led innovations. Applicants are invited to submit practical and scalable solutions addressing challenges such as post-harvest losses, inadequate processing and storage, fragmented markets, limited access to nutritious foods, and weak consumer demand for fruits and vegetables.
Eligible innovations must be beyond the idea stage and have at least a functional prototype, proof of concept, or minimum viable product (MVP) or beyond that demonstrates the feasibility of the solution. Purely conceptual ideas or designs without a demonstrated prototype will not be considered.
Preference will be given to innovations that have been tested in real-world settings and demonstrate potential for scale and impact.
Selected innovators will receive USD 5,000 in seed funding, technical mentorship from industry experts, capacity-building opportunities, and access to national and regional networking and showcasing platforms.
Finalists will have the opportunity to present their innovations at the NourishNext West Africa Regional Showcase in Dakar, Senegal, in 2026, connecting with policymakers, investors, development partners, and private sector leaders.
For more information, visit Nutrition Connect.
